Crayons, or other drawing utensils comprising wax or similar materials, such as those manufactured and sold under the mark CRAYOLA.RTM., are a popular drawing instruments. Crayons typically comprise a solid rod-shaped body made up entirely of waxy material. Most often, the material contains various color pigments. Further, a paper or plastic wrapper is usually located about a portion of the exterior of the crayon, in order to prevent the material from contacting the user or other undesired surfaces.
Because crayon material is fairly soft, a user can easily transfer it to most surfaces simply by pressing the crayon into engagement with the surface and moving it. The friction resulting during the movement of the crayon causes transfer of material from the crayon to the desired surface.
Because the crayon is rod-shaped, and often about 7 mm to 8 mm in diameter, it is difficult for a user to control the amount of material transferred to a drawing surface. For example, a user wishing to draw a thin line with a crayon tips the crayon on edge to present the "edge" located at the intersection of the outer cylindrical surface and the end of the crayon. After moving the crayon a short distance, however, the edge becomes flat from the material transfer, causing a wider line to be drawn.
Users often sharpen or taper one end of the crayon so that material may be more selectively placed, such as when the user draws thin lines. Once again, however, use of the crayon for a short time results in transfer of enough crayon material that the tapered area is worn off, exposing a larger surface area of material for transfer.
Users of crayons also often wish to draw complex shapes and patterns with crayons. Unfortunately, because of the problems described above, drawing of thin lines and complex shapes is extremely difficult. Further, it is not possible to use stencils or patterns to draw patterns with crayons, because, unlike ink pens or pencils, the large size of the crayon prevents it from passing through the stencil or other pattern.
For these reasons, users of crayons desire an improved means for transferring crayon material to a drawing surface.